A Wake In Progress (Fine Mess Theatre and Leila Sykes)

Don’t let the title put you off – this is no maudlin sob story or grim, funereal presentation. Don’t let the spectre of interactive theatre deter you either: it’s honestly nothing to fear, here! Fine Mess take time to get to know their audience, soliciting ideas and anecdotes to be woven into their tale. The show is about a woman – Juniper, today – who knows she is dying, so is planning her own funeral rehearsal. This forms the moving, yet upbeat climax of the show. Cleverly, with our own memories forming part of the patchwork proceedings, we cannot help but be involved. I thought I wasn’t moved, until suddenly, I was. Pretty much how grief works, I suppose.